The purple toddler T-tunic that keeps on fitting

Remember this?

Purple & Black Herringbone Toddler T-Tunic

This is the T-tunic I had cut for my daughter in May 2010, when she was 14 months old, in preparations for Spring Crown Tourney. As the story goes, I only finished it last year for BIA. For this year's BIA (which was March 3 - I'm a little late in posting this), I decided to try it on her again and see if it still fitted. The neck was too small to go over her head (it was already tight a year ago) but the rest still fitted, so all I had to do was split open the neckline to make it a keyhole, finish it with bias tape, et voilà! And of course, I did all this the morning of the event, before she woke up.

Child's play

(Someone had brought home made sand bag and ring toss games made with plywood painted like codices. I believe it was Ursion de Gui from Bois Ardent, but I'm not sure. Either way, it was AWESOME to have something to kee the kids busy, so thank you, whoever you are.)

She even wanted to wear the little viking hat I had made her last year. The t-tunic is worn as an over tunic over a long sleeve white tee (the one I had bought too big for the same event last year) and black leggings. It is belted with the tablet woven band I made her while I waited for her to be born. Medieval shoes for kids get to be expensive, so she wore her fancy black patent leather Mary Jane shoes (bought for the Holidays at Value Village for 3.99$) and her Ni Hao Kai Lan socks which she just adores.

The cutest little garden gnom

That is actually what someone said upon seeing her with her hat on.

Dancing Queen

I stood her up on the stage where the thrones were to take a couple pictures, and since she's been to a few of my dance shows, she decided that if she was on a stage she had to dance.

Little Princess

What can I say: she is 3 and loves princesses. In fact, when I told her there was going to be a real princess there (Her Highness Princess Avelina, princess of the East and Crown Princess of Tir Mara), she asked me if it was going to be Snow White. She wasn't too disappointed though, because someone introduced her to Her Highness who gave her many largesses (chocolate coins).

Mother & Daughter

Hugging!

I have to say it was a good day. Everyone loved her and we had a blast. Now I wish I could go to more events, if only time and budget allowed. I am hoping to make it to Border Spat in May, and maybe make me some new garb by then.

Queen of Hearts concept

Back in August of last year, when I was still floating on cloud nine after a great Masquerade with my daughter, and wondering what to make for Montreal ComicCon for my daughter and I, I decided some cartoon character (with less detail to their costumes) would be ideal. I have never been a great fan of the Queen of hearts, but I thought my daughter would look adorable as Alice in a light blue dress and white apron, so that is what I began planning for. While searching for photos to inspire me, I found this one of Terri Hatcher as the Queen of Hearts.

Terri Hatcher as the Queen of Hearts

This got me thinking that I did not necessarily have to go down the Disney road and do a perfect reproduction of the 1951 movie’s Character, but that I could in fact get creative and do a completely original concept.

Queen of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland (1951)

As we all know, I lost my job and the convention did not happen for me, but I still worked on a few concepts that I would like to share with you.

All of these concepts share the same gold and black chevron skirt and parti-coloured red and black open and trained overskirt trimmed with white fur, as well as a mini gold crown with four red heart-shaped gems around its circumference.

Concept 1

It consists of a parti-coloured red and black sweet heart bustier, laced in the back, with opposite parti-coloured open bolero jacket with white fur cuffs and white standing collar.

Concept 2

It consists of a parti-coloured red and black sweet heart bustier, laced in the back, with opposite parti-coloured bolero jacket with triple opposite colour frog closure at front and finger loops at each cuff. The white standing collar is separate from the jacket and is integrated with the necklace.

Concept 3

It consists of a parti-coloured red and black sweet heart long sleeved bodice, laced in the back, with detachable white standing collar, puff-and-slash sleeves and pleated and starched white cuffs.

Concept 4

It consists of a parti-coloured red and black sweet heart bustier, laced in the back, with opposite parti-coloured bolero jacket with metallic colour frog closure at front, at the under bust level, white standing collar, puff-and-slash sleeves and finger loops at each cuff

Fabrics I would wish to use are Dupioni silk for the skirt, satin for the collar, and velvet for everything black and red, though I could also use satin or Dupioni silk for the corseted bodice for more of a contrast with the bolero jacket.

In the hair department, I had looked at these two wig options:

Wig option 1

Wig option 2

The black curly wig I would use for some sort of an up-do, but I also like the more vampiric look of the second wig.

To be honest, my favourite concept in number 4. I like the bolero jacket over the laced bustier, and I also like the puff-and-slash sleeves. I really hope I can make it one of these days. And of course, I will have Alice with me.

Best Costume Design Nominations - 84th Academy Awards

Tomorrow night is the 84th Academy Awards. The Oscars is the one awards ceremony I watch religiously every year. Of course, being a costumeholic, my favourite category is Best Costume Design! Here are this year’s nominees to look out for.

Anonymous (2011)

Anonymous is set in the Elizabethan court and tells the story of Lord Oxford, the true author of the Shakespearean plays. Costumes by Lisy Christl.

The Artist (2011)

Also receiving 9 other nominations, The Artist is a silent, black and white movie set between 1927 and 1932. A popular silent movie actor, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) feels left behind by the new talking films, personified by a new upcoming actress, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). Costumes by Mark Bridges.

P.S. I love Jean Dujardin. He has also played Brice DeNice, Lucky Luke and Hubert Bonnisseur de la Bath, agent OSS 117. I wish him the best of luck!

Hugo (2011)

Set in a somewhat steampunk 1930’s, Hugo is about an orphan living in the walls of a train station, an automaton his father left him, a girl named Isabelle, and her cranky old godfather, Ben Kingsley as Georges Méliès (who, if you don’t already know, really lived and was one of the first to use cinema to tell fantastical stories with special effects and all). Costumes by Sandy Powell.

Jane Eyre (2011)

Yet another on screen version of this Charlotte Brontë story. If by any chance you still do not know what it is about, the eponymous character is an orphan who is abused by her aunt and cousins in her childhood, is then sent to a girls school where more abuse follows, becomes a governess but falls in love with her employer and runs away when on their wedding day, she discovers he is already wed, lives with a nice but strict family and is in the end reunited with her love. Costumes by Michael O'Connor.

W.E. (2011)

W.E. is about a 1998 New Yorker obsessed with what she believes is the ultimate love story, the one that captivated the world in 1936, King Edward VIII and American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Through research, she discovers it was not as perfect as she imagined. Costumes by Arianne Phillips.

So which movie are you rooting for? To be honest, I am not that excited about the nominees this year. Too much despair, not enough fantasy. I did see Jane Eyre and liked some of those Romantic era dresses, but I guess my vote goes to The Artist: the concept is original in our time, and like I said, I love Jean Dujardin.

Rococo High – Student’s Outfit

Now that everyone knows what Rococo High is (cliff notes if you haven’t read my post, which you should: it is an imaginary 18th century/fantasy high school that was thought up by yours truly as a new excuse for costuming – new students are welcome!), let me show you what I intend to wear to class!

Rococo High Outfit - Front and Back concept art

It consists of a red and off-white striped hooded Caraco jacket which buttons down the front, and a denim skirt worn over pocket hoops. An 18th century version of the jeans and hoodies so many teens wear. Also, the colours remind me of brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica, which were very in back in my High School days.

Rococo High Outfit - Concept art

Accessories include a shawl, some kind of silver or pewter pendant on black satin ribbon grey fingerless gloves, a purse and a fan. As this is a somewhat fantasy costume, I think I will get some red canvas sneakers to wear with it.

Oh look, I already have the fabric for this project!

Red and Off-White Caraco fabric

Denim Skirt Fabric

The red and off-white striped fabric was bought for 3$/metre at Fabricville last summer, while the denim was recuperated at my old job.

To be honest, I have had these fabrics for some time and have been itching to make this outfit for 6 months, but somehow, there are always other priorities. I had hopped to make it for last Halloween, but that did not happen. This year, it will!

Rococo High School

I don’t know about you, but I love Neo-Historical / Fantasy worlds set up somewhat like ours, with work, school, shopping malls, transport, buildings, etc. adapted to that specific world. Examples of these would be the Flinstones, the Jetsons, Trollz, Winx Club, Shrek the Third (with Worcestershire Academy – see my post on their uniforms here), Ella Enchanted, Harry Potter, and many more.

I recently wondered what an 18th Century Neo-Historical Fantasy High School would be like. And of course, what people would wear! Introducing Rococo High: a regular High School set in a Neo-Historical version of the second half of the 18th century.

Rococo High School Crest

As with every high school, you can often recognize what group kids belong to by looking at their clothes. And because I was at the bottom of the “Cool” pyramid in high school AND I finished in ’99, I may not be up to date on the proper lingo. My apologies.

Keep in mind that these are the general cut of garments for the period. Hairstyles should also reflect the fashionable styles from 1750 to 1790.

1779 Men's Fashion Plate

1770-80 Polonaise, Levite & Round Gowns, Rocking Horse Farm Patterns

The popular girls – dressed in frilly pastel dresses of the latest fashion, sporting cute little purses and fans. They look straight out of Marie-Antoinette (2006).

The cutest guys in school – also dressed in the best brands, clean cut, ready to attend court.

The jocks – they wear letter jackets of course! In my high school, the letter jackets were green wool, white leather sleeves and gold lettering. How about you?

The Cheerleaders – they wear incredibly short skirts – mid calf! – with peasant shirts and laced corselet in the school’s colours. And of course, they have pompoms!

The tough guys – Wearing leather jackets and vests and black denim pants.

The Goth Girl inspiration: Pet en L'air Back view, by Stahlrose

The Goth girl – wears extravagantly cut black dresses and dramatic make-up.

The Yoz (at least that is how we used to call them) - his clothes are baggy, he does not bother buttoning up his vest and he usually wears his Tricorn backwards.

The inspiration for the Teacher's Pet: Red Plaid Polonaise by Crookedpin

The teacher’s pet – wears a red tartan dress over a white or cream skirt, a lace partlet ruffled at the neck and tied with a black satin bow.

The Country Kids – their clothes are made of blue denim and their Tricorn could be white felt or brown leather, in lieu of a cowboy hat.

Rococo High Student Concept by Gwenyver

Regular student – just like today I see teens wear jeans and hoodies, I see Rococo High teen girls wearing hooded Caraco and denim skirt. This one is actually my Rococo High costume project (as mentioned in my 2012 Resolutions). It is what started this whole thought process.

As you can see some ideas are more developed than others. The point is, the possibilities are almost endless; the only limit is your imagination. For instance, when I was in high school, there was a craze for everything army; boys and girls wore camouflage print on t-shirts, sweaters, miniskirts, you name it. A camouflage Caraco and khaki skirt could be another interesting idea. Something inspired by sportswear could also be great. Imagine a red Adidas jacket and pants with double white lines down the sides for the track star. If Sue Sylvester can have wedding dress in that style, why could it not fit in Rococo High?

Are you feeling inspired yet? Any ideas tickling your brain? If so, come and enrol into Rococo High (on Facebook)!